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Robert Nicoll
Robert Nicoll (7 January 1814 - 7 December 1837) was a Scottish poet. Life Nicoll was born at the farmhouse of Little Tulliebeltane, in the parish of Auchtergaven, Perthshire (between Perth and Dunkeld), the 2nd son in a family of 9 children. When he was only 5 his father was reduced to the condition of a day labourer on his own farm by the default of a relative for whom he had become security.Garnett, 46. Robert's education was thus exceedingly imperfect, but he read all the books he could find, and profited by the opportunities he obtained by his move to Perth, where, at the age of 16, he apprenticed himself to a female grocer and wine merchant. By a small saving he enabled his mother to open a shop, and greatly improved the circumstances of his family. Personally he was amiable, honourable, enthusiastic, and warmly attached to his friends.Garnett, 47. He had already begun to write poetry, but destroyed most of his compositions in despair of ever being able to write correct English. His first literary production that saw the light was a tale, Il Zingaro, founded on an Italian tradition, which appeared in Johnstone's Magazine in 1833. In the same year his apprenticeship was terminated on account of ill-health. After a short stay at home to recruit his strength, he proceeded to Edinburgh, where he met with considerable notice, but no employment beyond that of an occasional contribution to Johnstone's (which shortly afterwards became Tait's Magazine). He had meditated emigrating to America, but was induced to remain in Scotland and open a circulating library at Dundee, which did not eventually prove successful. In the autumn of 1835 his poems, printed at the office of a Dundee newspaper, were published by Tait of Edinburgh, and proved somewhat of a commercial but not much of a literary success. In 1836 the circulating library was given up, and Tait obtained for Nicoll the appointment of editor of the Leeds Times. The salary was only £100 a year; nevertheless, before leaving Dundee Nicoll married Alice Suter, niece of a newspaper proprietor in the town, who is described as beautiful and interesting, and in every respect suited to him. Nicoll had always been a strong, even a violent, radical politician. The vigour which he introduced into the Leeds Times greatly stimulated the sale of the paper, but wore out his delicate constitution, which completely broke down after the general election in the summer of 1837, in consequence of his arduous and successful exertions in the cause of Sir William Molesworth. He returned to Scotland to die. Everything possible was done for him. Mr. and Mrs. Johnstone received him into their house. Andrew Combe and Robert Cox attended him gratuitously. Molesworth sent him £50, "accompanied," says Mrs. Johnstone, "by a letter remarkable for delicacy and kindness." But his health continued to decline, and he died at Laverock Bank, near Edinburgh, on 7 Dec. 1837. 2 days before his death his father and mother left their home, and, walking 50 miles through frost and snow, arrived just in time to see him alive. He was buried in North Leith churchyard. The inappropriateness of the situation to the last resting-place of a poet is the subject of some touching lines by his brother William, who a few years afterwards was himself buried in the same grave. Writing It is probably to the credit of Nicoll's lyrical faculty that his songs in the Scottish dialect should be so greatly superior to his poems in literary English. The latter, with some well-known exceptions, are of small account, but as a Scottish minstrel he stands very high. The characteristics of the native poetry of Scotland are always the same: melody, simplicity, truth to nature, ardent feeling, pathos, and humour. All these excellences Nicoll possesses in a very high degree, and deserves the distinction of having been a most genuine poet of the people. He certainly falls far short of Burns; but Burns produced nothing so good as Nicoll's best until after attaining the age at which Nicoll ceased to write; and it is not likely that the young man of 23 had arrived at the limits of his genius. His mind grew rapidly, and he might have produced prose work of abiding value when his political passion had been moderated and his powers disciplined by experience of the world. Publications Poetry *''Poems and Lyrics. Edinburgh: William Tait / London: Simpkin, Marshall / Dublin: John Cumming, 1835; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1855; Paisley, UK: Alexander Gardner, 1914. *''Poems (edited by Christian Isobel Johnstone). Edinburgh: 1842; Providence, RI: G.H. Whitney, 1853. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Robert Nicoll, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Feb. 26, 2017. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Feb. 26, 2017. *Smiles, Samuel. "Robert Nicoll" Brief Biographies New York: American Book Exchange, 1881, 186–195. googlebooks. Google Books, Web, May 17, 2009 Notes External links ;Poems *Nicoll in A Victorian Anthology, 1837-895: "We ’ll a’ Go Pu’ the Heather," "Bonnie Bessie Lee," "The Hero" ;Books * ;About *Robert Nicoll at Gerald-Massey.org * Nicoll, Robert Category:1814 births Category:1837 deaths Category:Scottish poets Category:19th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Scots-language poets Category:Poets